Certain cities, regions and demographics are more prone to activating digital coupons than others, according to a recent study from multichannel promotions platform RevTrax. In the study, five cities — Charlotte, NC; Rochester, NY; Raleigh, NC; Virginia Beach, VA; and Huntsville, AL — turned out to be the best areas to activate digital coupons for brands and retailers.
Digital coupons, including both print-at-home and mobile-enabled, can serve as a “vehicle to understand what channels and tactics help convert consumers into in-store buyers,” RevTrax COO Seth Sarelson told AdExchanger. “We can identify insights that give marketers a better idea of what types of customers, demographically, are more likely to engage with a digital promotion like a coupon.”
The study found that areas most receptive to digital coupons included areas that were female-dense, compact geographically, densely populated, family-friendly, and senior-dense.
By targeting a region or city based on one of these characteristics, marketers could see an average lift of around 4% in terms of digital coupon activation. Female-dense areas saw the best activation, as they reported a 4.7% increase in digital coupon activation. By targeting areas with two or more of these characteristics, marketer could see an increase in activation rates of 20%.
While some of the characteristics, such as female-dense or family friendly, aren’t that surprising when it comes to coupon activation, others caught Sarelson’s eye, he said. Seniors, for instance, may have more engrained cost-saving habits than younger folks, leading them to break out of the mold and leverage digital coupons.
Another surprising finding was that affluent consumers used more coupons than lower income consumers. Areas with a higher income levels activated nearly 100% more coupons compared to areas with more of the median income level. In areas with lower incomes, consumers activated coupons almost 40% less than the average median income areas.
Overall, RevTrax hopes marketers can use this information to inform their future campaigns and more effectively use coupons and other types of marketing based on the characteristics and demographics of the areas they are trying to target. Certain promotions work better for different demographics, and now, geographic areas. By combining that data, it can help marketers make effective decisions.
“This is especially effective for either large national retailers with a broad footprint or CPG manufacturers,” Sarelson said.
